Flag football is a type of gridiron football (American football) in which players wear flags that are attached to belts worn around the waist. The flags are attached in such a manner that they can be removed by the application of force; known means of attachment include attachment by friction, suction, or hook and loop fastener material. When a player on the defense grabs and pulls on the flag of an offensive player who is advancing the ball, the flag detaches from the offensive player's belt, play is halted, and a referee assesses the position at which the flag was detached in order to spot the ball in accordance with that position before the next play.
Flag football may provide a safer alternative to tackle football, because high-impact collisions are not an integral part of the game. Furthermore, the ball in flag football may be spotted at the position of the flag when it is detached from a belt, rather than at a position of the ball when the flag is detached from the belt; this may discourage headfirst diving (and/or facilitate the rules of flag football banning the practice), mitigating the risk of dangerous headfirst collisions.